Stopped Destructive Development Project at the Fitzgerald Marine ReserveThe San Mateo County Board of supervisors voted to reject the application for a Coastal Development Permit and Coastside Design Review Permit to construct a 3,159 square foot addition to an existing 1,332 square foot residence and detached accessory building on a 11,103 square foot parcel, including the removal of one significant size Cypress tree for property located at 324 The Strand, unincorporated Moss Beach area. The Board voted 4 out of 5 to reject the permit and stopped the project in its tracks. The proposed addition was inappropriately sized considering the sensitivity of the local habitat and the proximity to the coastline within the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Also, once approved, this project would likely have required reinforced armoring of the shoreline.More info.

Favorable Hawaii Navy Sonar RulingFederal District Court Chief Judge Ezra in Hawaii ruled that the U.S. Navy would not be allowed to carry on its undersea warfare exercises without implementing further mitigation measures to protect marine mammals. In response to a complaint brought by Surfrider and other conservation groups, Judge Ezra ordered eight new mitigation provisions including increased monitoring for marine mammals for one hour each day before using sonar, three lookouts exclusively to spot the animals during sonar use and stop sonar transmission altogether when one of the mammals is within 500 meters, and sonar must be gradually powered on to warn marine mammals and allow escape. The judge also held that the Navy has failed to investigate alternatives to conducting these exercises. In a parallel case in California on the same day, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected President Bush's attempt to exempt the exercises from environmental laws.More info.